Aston Martin confirms all-new platform under development

Snapshot: The new platform will replace the decade-old V-H architecture that came into being in 2001.

In a very regular looking press release detailing the financial results for the year 2013, Aston Martin has subtly confirmed a very important piece of information. The British marquee has officially announced the development of an all-new platform that will underpin all the future Aston Martins models. Furthermore, the new platform is being designed to suit and accommodate the new V8 engine and electrical components sourced from Mercedes-AMG, with whom the British marquee had entered into a strategic alliance last year.

The said new platform will replace the age-old V-H (Vertical-Horizontal) platform that was first seen in the original Vanquish back in 2001. The V-H platform has underpinned nearly all the products coming out of Aston’s factories, except for the Cygnet and the One-77 hypercar. The upcoming all-new platform is said to debut with the next-generation DB9 in 2016, and will eventually, make its way onto the new Vantage.

Mr Hanno Kirmer, chief financial officer of Aston Martin said, “We are engineering a completely new architecture and technologies to ensure that our next generation of sports cars are at the forefront of design, performance and technology. The strategic partnership with Daimler AG will bring with it cutting edge electrical and electronic architecture expertise, and the shared development of world-class bespoke V8 powertrains.”

The information regarding the new platform is still kept under wraps. However, there are some rumours doing rounds that Aston Martin might get hold of the MSA platform from Mercedes Benz that could underpin the next generation models of the SL and the SLK roadsters.

For the smooth rolling out of the new platform, Aston Martin had reportedly, revised and strengthened its financial structure back in April 2013 with new investors and also expanded its dealership network in new markets such as Thailand and Mexico. In the year 2013, Aston Martin posted a healthy 13 per cent increase in total revenue, thanks to the above average sales coming from the Vanquish Coupe, Vanquish Volante and the V12 Vantage S models.